leslie white of the wildlife conservation society. the wcs program in gabon has... has really evolved a lot in the last year or two. we've shifted from being basically a research and training program based in the lope reserve to a situation where now we're doing a national evaluation of all the potential national parks in gabon. narrator: working closely with gabon's biologists, they press the case for setting aside large natural areas. inhethe president of gabon makes a dramatic announcement. he establishes a new natural park system that will cover ten percent of gabon's rain forests. in preserving this natural heritage for future generations of gabonese citizens, ays groundwork with attractions second to none. can a country stilpeent onmaconomic acvies ays grofind alternatives to non-renewable resources?none. can it reduce income inequality by raising the standard of living as it searches for means of sustainable development? habitat conservation and eco-tourism may be one important part. captioned by media access group at wgbh acce